Falling Through Time
by soufflewhouffle
Summary: A fic I started a while ago but didn't have any incentive to carry on. If you want me to carry it on on here then please let me know by reviewing! Rating not accurate because I have no idea what will be involved, I'll change it later. - - THANK YOU TO THE IMPOSSIBLE SOUFFLE FOR THE TITLE! :) - -


_One day, you meet the Doctor. And of course, it's the best day ever. The trick is; don't fall in love. I use that trick quite often – sometimes twice a day._

'Where next?'I ask the Doctor, leaning against the TARDIS console.

'Wherever you want!' He tells me, beaming hugely and spinning around like a madman. Which he is, I suppose. A geeky, awkward, adorable, kind, big-hearted madman. With a box. And a weird liking for bow ties, but that's just part of the 'geeky, adorable' bit.

'Beaches, dinosaurs, the end of the world, the beginning of the world, forests, cities, the fututre, the past, the present..' he paused, looking at her with one eyebrow raised. '_anywhere_, Clara Oswald.'

'Hm.' I pretend nonchalance at his little speech. 'I want to go somewhere beautiful.' I tell him. 'Somewhere special.'

The Doctor gives me a long look, steps forward, smiles. 'Only the most special for you, Clara.' He says it teasingly, but some underlying gravity made me catch my breath. But then he spins away and I wonder if I imagined it. That's the problem with the Doctor; every day is full of teasing moments full of unexplained gravity and feeling but every time I think it means something, I realise it never did.

The TARDIS whines and groanes as usual and by now the take-off jerk doesn't take me by surprise. I hold firmly on to the railings and it jolts me a little, but at least I don't end up on the floor. The Doctor, on the other hand, leaps and runs about, dipping and leaning and swaying with every bump and twist. Like a dance, almost, and I could have watched him forever. He looks up, catches my gaze. 'Somewhere special.' he mutters, almost to himself, and then he's away again, spinning, dancing, leaping almost, pulling levers, pressing buttons, and flicking switches.

I'm quiet for a while, just watching him. Soon enough the TARDIS lands with a jolt, and this time I'm unprepared, and am falling towards the floor and am about to hit it when a pair of strong arms wrap around me, just in time. 'Oops.' Says the Doctor, his breath tickling my ear. 'Try not to get hurt, Clara. You're far too precious.' He winks and turns away, and I'm sure I hear him mutter, '_The only mystery worth solving_.'

The Doctor stands by the TARDIS doors, an excited smile on his face. I have to remind myself that it is definitely not adorable and perfect and I definitely shouldn't loved it so much.

'Come on then, chin boy.' I say. 'Open up.'

He grins and swings open the doors.

A library.

I turn to him, puzzled. 'A library?'

He keeps smiling, but I'm sure I see his face fall, a tiny bit. 'No, we just have to go through the library.' He tells me. 'But, Clara! Even the library. So many books!' His face is suffused with delight. 'Stories, history, beauty, tragedy, laughter, tears, diaries, love, hope.' He looks at me. 'Libraries are pretty special.'

And I can almost see it through the doctor's eyes; the pages of wonder and hope and anger and bittersweet memories. I walk up to the nearest shelf and pluck a book of at random. She caught her I catch my breath - it has a picture of the Doctor on the front. I turn to face him, hold up the book, turn back, pick another. Again, the Doctor's face.

'Doctor!' I exclaim. 'Books on you!'

He chuckles. 'Look up, Clara.'

A finger under my chin tips up my head, and I see a sign above the shelf. It reads, simply, 'The Doctor.'

I turn to face him, awed. 'A whole shelf? Just on you?'

He shrugs and grins modestly.

I flip open one of the books, but before I can read any of it, a deft hand flips it shut again.

'Nuh-uh.' The Doctor says disapprovingly.

'Why can't I read it?'

He frowns. 'This library...It's from the future. Quite a long time ahead, actually.' He pauses. 'I should really be dead. In actual fact, I _am_ dead. These books contain my future and I'd rather keep it all a surprise.' He looks slightly pained, but throws me his boyish grin. I slowly slip the books back onto the shelf.

'So..' I say, 'If anybody saw you, then wouldn't there be a problem?'

'Not really. Obviously it would cause a slight paradox, but they do know I'm a time-traveller. There aren't any people here to see me, anyway.'

I realise that he is right; the library is deserted.

'Why is it so empty?'

'We are so far into the future, that actually, the library's closed down. These books are no longer in use...This library, it's like one huge storage cupboard now. If we visited other floors, there'd be more than just books in here.' His face is curious for a second, but then he shakes himself and turns back to me. 'Anyway, back to the original plan. Something special!'

He smiles, strides ahead, stops; reaches back and takes my hand. 'Come on,'

We walk through the towering shelves towards a large, ornate door. Its black and gold embellishment of flowers and vines climb steadily towards the ceiling. The Doctor opens the door and we stepped through.

Bright, white light shines into my eyes and I am blinded for a split second. Then my eyes adjust and I am breathless.

We are standing in a green field; small trees resembling cherry blossoms scattered through the lush grass. The sky is pure blue, and the air is still. And, in the centre, is a tree, giant, huge, towering above us. It has rich green leaves, and the dappled ground beneath is soft.

I turn to face the Doctor, eyes wide. 'Doctor-'

'I know.' He smiles, and I can see, reflected in his eyes, my own breathless, wonderstruck expression.

'Oh my stars - It's so beautiful.' I breathe. 'Just what I asked for.'

The Doctor sprints away towards one of the trees. 'Come on!' He calls over his shoulder and I follow eagerly.

When I catch up with him, he's holding a small round, pink fruit in his hand. 'Try it.' He says.'Voroxian peach.' He squints at me. 'That's where we are, by the way. Voroxia. Forgot to mention that.' He hands me the fruit and I take it hesitantly.

'Go on.'

I take a bite. Sweetness fills my mouth; and then, an instant later, a sourness, so sour that I scrunch up my face and spit it out. 'Doctor!' I exclaim. He looks at me impishly. 'Sorry.' He says. 'I couldn't resist.'

I poke him in the ribs. 'So, have you come here before?' I ask.

He nods. 'Once or twice.'

'Did you ever come...with someone?' I hate the catch in my voice, but luckily the Doctor doesn't seem to notice.

Almost absent-mindedly, he replies. 'No,' he says. 'Always on my own. I never found anyone quite right, you see. This place, it's...special. I never felt like I wanted to share it with someone, before.' He stopped. 'Do you know what I mean?'

I'm not sure; but I nod anyway.

He looks at me for a moment longer, and the tension is so tangible I can almost taste it. 'Clara-'

A huge crash cuts off what he's about to say – the ground shakes and I throw out my arms for balance.

'Doctor? What was that?'

He frowns. 'I don't know.' He pulls out his sonic screwdriver. It makes a low buzzing sound and he flips it up. 'Some sort of...electric signal?' He frowns. 'A warning? A cry for help?' His face has lit up.

I frown. 'But...I thought you said this place was deserted.'

'It's supposed to be...clearly I travelled a bit further into the future than I intended.'

He turns and looks at me. 'What do you want to do? After all, it could be anything.'

'Don't be stupid.' I tell him, and stride off in the direction of the crash.

I hear him chuckle and then he has caught up, striding alongside me gracefully.

'What do you think it is?' I ask.

'No idea.' He tells me. 'Could be anything from some friendly citizens to a mob of hostile aliens who while try to kill us as soon as we get near them.' He smiles brilliantly.

'Great.'

He looks at me. 'Are you sure you want to do this?'

I stop, look back at him. 'What if someone needs help?' I ask. 'We can't just leave, Doctor. You said it yourself. If there's some way we can help, I want do it.'

He doesn't reply; just looks at me. He reaches out and his hands cup my face.

'Clara Oswald, you are amazing.' He tells me, and drops a kiss on her forehead before sprinting away.

We stride hastily towards the sound; but all there is to see is green grass and trees and perfect blue skies. We stop and look at each other in puzzlement. The Doctor pulls out his sonic and scans the air. 'Whatever it was, it's gone.' He tells me, a frown on his face.

'That's weird.' I say.

The Doctor nods. 'Very..' He takes a few steps forward, scanning the air with the sonic screwdriver.

'Too weird?' I ask.

'Too weird.' He confirms.

'Well what could it have been?'

'I'm not sure;' The Doctor says, pacing in a circle while pressing buttons on his sonic. 'I'm trying to find something to track.' He tells me. 'Some way to find the source.'

'What, like a signal?'

'Anything. Could be a signal. Or just leftover energy, buzzing in the air. Tremors running throught the earth, carrying the particles. Or-' He stops as the sonic screwdriver starts glowing. 'Yes!' He looks up, grinning. 'I found something.' He beckons me forwards. 'Follow me; we'll find where this is coming from soon enough.'

I struggle to keep up as he races through the fields, not quite running but his natural balance allowing him to clumsily traverse the hummocky ground much more quickly than me. I have to step more carefully to avoid tripping up on holes and hills.

'Doctor!' I yell. He's slowly disappearing, his long legs eating up the ground much faster than I can manage. '_Doctor!_' He slows, stops, waits.

'Come on, Clara. We haven't got all day!'

'Well, I'm sorry,' I retort. 'Just because I haven't got time-lordy super speed.'

'Oh, no super-speed here, Clara. You're just slow.'

Something shines in the corner of my eye – like the reflection of light on a pond. Only, it's not on the ground – it's in mid air, a shimmering circle floating few feet above the ground.

'Clara?' The Doctor yells. 'Clara! What are you doing?'

'Doctor – you should come and see this.'

'What? No, Clara, we need to find the source of that signal!'

'But I think it could be important!'

'Oh, all right then. But whatever you do, don't touch i-'

His words reach my ears as I reach forward and my fingertips slide smoothly into the cold sphere.

'Clara! Get away from there, now!'

I try to pull back; but my fingers are stuck.

'Doctor? I'm stuck.'

He finally reaches me. 'Don't move.' He tells me, aiming his sonic screwdriver at it. 'Now, if I can just find the right setting to vibrate the molecules and loosen them enough for you to slip out...'

He fiddles with a few buttons and then activates it. Green light floods out accompanied by a high pitched buzzing.

Sure enough, I start to move – but then I realise that rather than pulling out,I'm being drawn further in.

'Help! It's – It's pulling me. Doctor!'

'Hang on, just, hang on.' He says. 'Wrong setting! New screwdriver, new buttons.'

'You've had that screwdriver since I joined you.'

'Fine! I made a mistake. Bu-'

'Doctor! We don't have time for this!'

'Yes, yes. Of course. Now, if I can just reverse the settings and then..'

I scream as I am pulled forward in a single huge burst of movement; I can feel the cold settling around my body, until only my head and one hand are left.

'Nooo, Clara, no-'

The Doctor grasps my hand. 'Hold on, Clara, I won't let go, I promise, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry-'

And then, with a final pull, my hand is wrenched out of his and I'm falling, falling through the sphere, head spinning and icy cold wrapping around me.

I open my eyes to a brilliant white light. Blinking and coughing, I sit up, and look around.

I'm in the exact same spot as before. But the Doctor is gone; and so is the sphere.

'Doctor?' There's only silence. 'Doctor?' I stand up, brushing off my dress. '_Doctor!_'

Shaking, I start to walk back the way I came. Back towards the TARDIS. The safest place I can think of right now.

I'm stumbling across the hilly ground when I spot the figure. Tall, with a long, brown coat and spiky hair, stood leaning against one of the trees.

'Hey!' I call. 'Over here!'

The man looks over, spots me; he waves and pulls his hands out of his pockets before running over.

As he comes closer, I get the feeling that I've seen him somewhere before. That I know him well.

'Hello.' He says.

'Please, I need you to help me.' I say.

'Why, what's the matter?'

'I need to find...my friend.' I tell him. 'Young, bow tie, waistcoat, sort of...floppy hair.'

The man looks at me strangely. 'There's nobody else here. Nobody knows about this place, apart from me. And, apparently, you.'

I frown. 'Well he's here somewhere. And how are you here, anyway? The library's supposed to be closed. Or... wait! Are you the one who sent out that signal?' I pause.

'Although, it's in the wrong place. He was so sure it was coming from over there...' I mutter, half to myself.

'What signal?' The man asks. 'And, who are you? How did you get here?' And then he added; 'Have I seen you somewhere before? You look familiar.'

I freeze. 'That's what I thought, too.' I breathe. 'I feel like I know you from somewhere.'

He frowns. 'Really. Who are you?'

'I'm Clara.' I tell him.

'And who's this friend you're trying to find? I'd very much like to meet him.'

'He's the Doctor. Please, have you seen him? I need to find him.'

'Well, that's not possible.'

'Why not?'

'Because I'm the Doctor.'

'What?'

He leans down, grasps my shoulders. '_I_ am the Doctor. The one and only. TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, two hearts, Time Lord. The Doctor.'

'But...that's the same. As the Doctor.'

'But it's not possible!' He hisses, straightening up and spinning around, hand on the back of his head. 'A future regeneration? But it can't be. If it was, I would be crossing my own timeline and the paradoxes that would create, the damage it would cause!'

'Clara – that was your name, right? I need you to tell me everything. Everything that's happened since you got here.'

I tell him the story; of how we found a signal, how I got pulled into the sphere. And then he grins; a wide, infectious grin. 'Aha!'

'What? What is it?' I ask.

'Your Doctor – he isn't here.'

'What do you mean?'

'That sphere was a time pocket. Technology designed to be used as an emergency teleport into a different time. Automatically collapses after a teleport. Very clever; normally used by people running away from something. But, the point is, you've travelled back in time. This Doctor of yours, he's me. A future regeneration. And when you fell through that time pocket, you got pulled back to the best, safest point to lock onto, the closest match to the situation you were in at that precise moment. Which was, on the Voroxian Sunset Plain with the future version of me, the Doctor.'

He looks at me concernedly. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, fine. Just...how do I find him? How do I get back?'

'There's bound to be more time pockets around. You can use one of those to get back to your time.'

'Do they all lead back to the same time?'

'No, of course not.'

'Then how do I know which one to use?'

'I'll change the settings on the sonic screwdriver to detect the flux traces from your particular time pocket.'

'Flux...traces?'

'Yes. A time pocket is basically a doorway, between two different dimensions. Imagine you spilled a drink on one side of an open door. Some of the drink would..leak, overflow, onto the other side. It's kind of, almost, hardly like that but it's hard to explain. Basically, time energy from your side fluctuates and spills over to this side, and it works both ways. Anyway, I can detect it using my sonic...got it?'

'Yes. I think so.'

'So, if you could just give me the exact space-time coordinates for where your time pocket was?'

'Sorry, what?'

'Your space-time coordinates. I need to enter them into the sonic screwdriver to lock onto your time pocket.'

'Yeah, I know, but...How am I supposed to know the exact space-time coordinates of where I am?'

'What do you mean? How can you not know?'

'...I'd like to see you try.'

He arches an eyebrow. 'Currently, our coordinates are_..._.' He reels off a list of numbers and letters and looks at me. 'Can you really not do that?'

'No! I'm human, in case you hadn't noticed.'

'How am I supposed to lock onto the time pocket if I don't have the coordinates?' He growls.

'Sorry!' I start. 'Bu-'

'Wait! I can probably initiate a psychic link. Clara, I need you to think about something unique to this incarnation of the Doctor. When you think of the Doctor, what immediately comes to mind?'

It's easy; I close my eyes, and I can see him, striding towards me, straightening his bow tie, '_Bow ties are cool._' I breathe.

'What?'

'Bow ties! He loves them.'

'Oh.' The other Doctor looks taken aback. 'I honestly can't imagine why, but, if you say so..'

'Yes! Now do it.' I say.

'Okay. Close your eyes. Picture him. Picture the bow tie.'

'Doing it.' I say, and clench my eyes shut tightly.

'Remember the portal. Remember the bow tie. Concentrate. Focus on every little detail.'

I picture, in my head, the last image I have of the Doctor. The image of him being ripped away as I fall backwards through the portal. His bow tie; dark blue with maroon vines twisting across it. I imagine each vine coming to life, shining brightly and moving across the deep blue material. I hold the image in my head and pray that the other Doctor can find him.

'Aha!'

My eyes fly open.

'I've got a fix! Come on, this way!'

This Doctor is just as fast as my Doctor but this time, my anticipation and exhilaration lend my feet wings and I fly across the ground behind him.

His sonic screwdriver is beeping louder every second and he looks over shoulder to grin at me. I smile back.

'We're close!' He yells back at me. 'Very close!'

And then, he skids to a halt; I crash into his back and his arms windmill as he regains his balance.

'Sorry.' I say.

'We are very, very close.' He tells me. 'In fact...' He takes a few steps forwards and round a bush; 'Here we are!'

I rush forward eagerly. The familiar, shimmering sphere floats in front of me.

The Doctor steps back, beaming. 'There we are.' He says. 'Now, you can get back.'

I turn and smile. 'Thank you!' I throw my arms around him and he staggers back slightly before returning the hug.

'You're very welcome. Now. I'll sonic it so that it stays open for a few seconds after you go through. When I say a few, I mean, maybe 30. 40 if I push it. The time zone is definitely right so as long as you're in this field, you'll find him eventually. But if you see, you know, an alien planet or lava mountains or anything, come back through!' He smirks. 'Now then...'

I step towards the portal and he grabs my hand and squeezes it. 'You ready, Clara?'

I nod.

'Allons-y!'

And he pushes me forwards gently, and for the second time today I tip into the portal.

This time, when my eyes blink open, I'm prepared and I stand up straight away. I turn to the time pocket.

The other Doctor is staring through, sonic buzzing and pointed at the portal. 'How long can you keep it open for?' I yell.

'Another 15 seconds or so! Are you in the right place?'

I take a quick look around. Relief floods through me as I take in the familiar surroundings.

'Yes!' And then I yell, 'Thank you again, Doctor! Really.'

He winks. 'Any time.'

And the the portal shines brighter than ever; a blinding light flares out for a second and then the entire sphere collapses, until it is only a fading pinprick of light.

I wait until my vision clears fully before I start to scan the area around me.

'Doctor?' I yell. 'Doctor!'

There's no reply, and I start to walk back the way we came.

Then I see a flash of movement in the bushes to my right; I spin around. 'Doctor? Is that you?' Taking hesitant steps, I approach the line of bushes. 'Doctor...?'

'_Do not attempt to escape, or fight back, or you will be shot immediately_.'

Something cold and hard is pressed against my head; the barrel of a gun.

I slowly turn around. Behind me is a lizard-like creature with a mask. Large horns, four of them, stick out at the top of its head and the flesh I can see is black. Behind the gold mask, orange, glittering eyes shine malevolently, holding no mercy within.

'Please.' I try. 'I just want to find my friend.'

I turn back towards the bushes to see two more of the lizard-creatures emerging from them, stalking towards me with guns held up.

'You will come with us. Do not struggle.'

'Let me go!' I exclaim, resisting the urge to kick the one leading me if only because of the gun barrel still pressed to my skull.

'Silence!' One of them snarls, and shoves the gun roughly into my head, sending me stumbling forward.


End file.
